‘Celebrate Raya with vigilance’

Health dG: Stick to SOP as prevention is also your responsibility

As Malaysians prepare to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri tomorrow, the public is reminded to be vigilant and adhere to standard operating procedure (SOP).

In expressing his concerns, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said data from other countries pointed to a drastic increase in Covid-19 cases during the festive period.

“The prevention of Covid-19 is not the sole responsibility of the government but also the community at large.

“Everyone, including family members, must adhere to SOP such as social distancing, maintain good hygiene and avoid gatherings,” he said during his daily briefing on Covid-19 yesterday.

On a personal note, Dr Noor Hisham said this year’s Hari Raya would be no different from previous years as he would celebrate it at the hospital.

“Every year, I celebrate Hari Raya at the hospital. After prayers, I will go to the hospital to be with the frontliners who are working,” he said.

Yesterday, there were 78 new cases recorded, bringing the country’s tally to 7,137 cases.

Out of the figure, 25 were imported cases while the rest were local transmissions.

There were 25 more cases from the Bukit Jalil Immigration depot cluster, in addition to the 35 cases the day before.

Dr Noor Hisham said 63 more patients had been discharged over the past 24 hours, bringing the country’s recovery rate to 82.1%.

There was one new death, taking the country’s death toll to 115.

The latest fatality was a 65-yearold man with a history of diabetes, hypertension and kidney disease.